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FAQs: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Question?
Comment? Suggestion
to make? To see the new FAQ's
that have been added as of 1/30/02, please click {here}.
**The MTT contest winners can be found at the following page: http://www.drexel.edu/admin/merger/mttwinners.html**
New FAQ's as of 1/30/02:
While there is every reason to be optimistic, there has not been any final decision about this. Some major issues remain to be addressed with Tenet Health Systems and with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania before the Drexel Trustees are going to vote on merger.
A great deal! In his November 22 message to both university communities concerning merger, President Papadakis explained how, by working together, Drexel and MCPHU have satisfied all of the requirements that the Drexel Trustees had placed on merger back in 1998. To read the text of his message, click {here}. 3. When is the actual merger vote going to happen? The Trustees next meet on February 27, 2002, and it is anticipated that they will put the merger to a vote at that time. The actual deadline for the decision is April 1, 2002. 4. If the Drexel Trustees vote to merge in February, when will the merger actually take place? "Merger" means "coming together". While the two universities would legally come together as of July 1, 2002, the actual merger is not a single event that will occur on that one day, but a process that will take time. It took two years, for example, for the two Universities' psychology departments to come together, and they are still working out the relationships between them. Other departments will experience the same transition. Many administrative functions have already been consolidated - personnel, accounting, fundraising, security, IT, and the like - and there have already been some significant collaborations, like the establishment of the Institute for Healthcare Informatics. Some changes will occur before the July 1 date; others will take time to implement; and still other ideas will still be on the drawing boards. Once the Drexel Trustees vote to merge, there will undoubtedly be even greater efforts to integrate the two universities. 5. What will the new University be called, and what will it look like? The new University will be called Drexel University. It will be one university, with eleven colleges and schools, one management team, one faculty, and one student body. The three parts of MCPHU - the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing and Health Professions, and the School of Public Health ("the MCPHU schools") - will be just like the College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Science, and the School of Environmental Science, Engineering, and Policy. The medical school will remain in a separate corporation, which may also include the two other MCPHU schools - that has not yet been decided - which will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Drexel University and controlled by it. Whatever legal form the corporations take will not control how they operate: both parts will be one university. 6. How many campuses will there be? No changes are anticipated. The new university will continue to operate at the same places, with principal sites at West Philadelphia (Drexel), Hahnemann, Queen Lane, MCP, EPPI, St. Christopher's, and Allegheny General Hospital (in Pittsburgh). 7. Does having "one university" mean that all employees will have the same benefits? Right now, the universities have very different benefit systems. The intention is to equalize the benefits over time, probably three years. 8. Will there be a single academic calendar? There probably won't be any changes for the 2002-03 academic year. Drexel University will continue to offer its classes on the quarter system, and MCPHU on the semester system, and right now there is no intention to change the calendar of either school. The goal is, though, to make it possible for students to take courses at both universities, and that will require some modifications to the academic calendars of both institutions. Any changes are likely to be implemented over time. 9. Will they have the same tenure system? The MCPHU tenure system was put on hold because of the AHERF bankruptcy, and so that needs to be addressed immediately. Because of the nature of the services they perform, the clinical faculty will always have a different relationship with the university than do the academic faculty. Otherwise, though, the goal is to have the same tenure system apply to both parts of the new university. 10. Will they have the same governance structure? That is the goal. They will have the same administration, and it is anticipated that they will have the same faculty governance structure. This is currently being explored. "PHEC" will continue to have a separate board of trustees, as it does today, but unlike the present situation, Drexel will appoint all "PHEC" trustees. 11. What will happen to profits generated by "PHEC"? Will they stay in "PHEC"? Whether there are profits or losses, they will be reflected on Drexel's combined financial statements. Whether any profits generated by the medical school, or losses incurred by it, will be shared with Drexel, and in what amounts, is a matter for the Trustees to decide. 12. How will the merger affect Drexel's bond rating? The
bond analysts have known for some time that Drexel was considering merging
with MCP Hahnemann University, and they think this is a good development
for the University. In the November 5, 2001 edition of Credit Week Municipal,
Standard & Poors reported that Drexel's credit rating had been upgraded
from A- to A. In doing so, it noted that, "The stable outlook [for
Drexel] also reflects the assumption that any financial consolidation
of MCP Hahnemann would be financially neutral or positive for Drexel." 13. Who is going to be making the decisions about what gets done by July 1 and what gets done after that date? If the merger is approved, the President and his Administration will have that responsibility. To get ready for the vote, the President has established a Merger Transition Team and given it the responsibility of thinking about the issues, recommending solutions, and proposing an implementation schedule. 14. What exactly is the Merger Transition Team supposed to do? The President has given the Team a charge that is both very specific, and very broad. He said, "I don't want you to begin your work by thinking about where we are; I want you to think about where we want to be, three years from now. What will make sure that we take full advantage of this merger? What do we need? And how can we best get there? I want you to think about every idea from all perspectives, including its affects on the missions of the schools, on the people who work here - faculty and staff alike - on the students who come here, and on our graduates. As you think about the issues that face our two institutions, I want you to know that nothing is sacred. You are free to examine any idea, even if it has been rejected in the past.... So here is your charge: identify the issues, propose solutions, and prioritize them. Tell me which you think should be addressed immediately, which in the short term, and which in the long term, and suggest how we are going to pay for them.... I expect to receive specific proposals from you within 60 days, [and] I also want you to continue working on ideas thereafter, and to develop a process that will continue to guide the integration of our two universities after the merger has occurred." To read the President's Charge to the Merger Transition Team, click {here} . 15. Who is on the Merger Transition Team? Each University and each campus is represented. It includes members of the faculty, deans, students and officers of both universities, including one professor with appointments to both Universities. Some members have been with the university for more than 20 years; one for six months. The Team is diverse as it possibly could be, including gender, race, age, and national origin. For a list of the members and information about them, click {here} . 16. Are they doing it all by themselves, without anyone else's input? No! The Merger Transition Team is forming "sub-teams" to help them explore certain issues. Those sub-teams will include additional representatives of the two university communities. The new sub-teams will be announced after they are formed, and you can read about them by clicking {here}. Every member of every team is supposed to gather information, and you can contact them to share your thoughts, ideas. The best ideas will receive prizes -- a special sub-team will award a $100 cash prize every week from January 1, 2002 to June 30, 2002 - for the best ideas. (Click {here} to read about the winners.) Anyone can provide input or ideas to the Team at any time, simply by clicking {here}. 17. What issues is the Team going to be considering? The President has given the Team a very broad charge. By consulting with their colleagues and reviewing the work of four previously-formed task forces, the Team has identified two dozen issues that they want to examine. They agreed that the issues could be separated into three categories: (a) issues that should be addressed before the Trustees voted whether or not to merge, on February 27, (b) issues that should be addressed before the merger would occur, on July 1, and (c) issues that could wait to be addressed after merger occurred. The Team then identified the following seven issues as warranting their immediate attention: Structure of the new University, Faculty Governance, Student Governance, Tenure, Benefits (retirement and sabbatical), Administrative and support services (student and faculty), and Research (return of indirect costs). 18. Is the work of the Team secret? Not at all! While its meetings are not open to the public, the Team is keeping minutes of each meeting, and those minutes are publicly available by clicking {here} one week after the meeting. (The minutes of each meeting will be considered and approved at the Team's next meeting, and then posted the next day.) In addition, the Team will be issuing periodic reports and new advisories, which will be available by clicking {here}. Anyone can speak with any member of the Team at any time about what is going on. HOWEVER, at its very first meeting, the Team adopted a pledge that every member has signed, by which each member "pledge[d] to the others that at no time, in no place, and to no person will we reveal to any non-Member the name (or other identifying information) of any person in conjunction with any discussion of what was said, proposed, or argued at any meeting of the Team or discussion between or among its Members." A copy of the pledge can be read by clicking {here}. Each person is invited to attend a meeting of the Team (including meetings of the sub-teams) will be required to make the same pledge, which can be read by clicking {here}. The Team asks that all members of the university communities honor this pledge and not ask them to reveal the sources of comments or information. 19. Why is it only the Drexel Trustees have a vote? Why don't the MCPHU Trustees also have a vote? In November 1998, when MCPHU was formed and taken out of the bankrupt AHERF estate, an agreement was made among Drexel, Tenet Healthcare (which was buying the hospitals), and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (which was providing funding). Under that contract, the MCPHU Board of Trustees consists of representatives of each of the three. The Trustees are responsible for the oversight of the University. By written contract, Drexel was hired as its manager. Drexel was also given the option to decide whether or not it wanted to merge with MCPHU. If it does, then it was given the legal right to do so, without having to get any further permission from either Tenet or the Commonwealth, the other parts of the MCPHU Board of Trustees. 20. What happens if the Drexel trustees vote not to merge? Under the Drexel-MCPHU Agreement, there are two different possibilities. If the Drexel Trustees decide they do not want Drexel to merge with MCPHU, they could decide to sever the relationship entirely, effective July 1, 2002. They could also decide to postpone the decision for another year. Either way, they could also offer to continue managing MCPHU for another year; but MCPHU would have to agree to that. 21. How likely is it that the Drexel trustees will delay the vote for another year? The Drexel trustees have been very impressed with the job that MCPHU has done turning itself around, bringing itself to financial stability, and mapping a sound business plan for the future. The independent consultants that both Drexel and MCPHU hired last summer did an extensive job in analyzing the situation. Many if not most of the departments providing administrative support have already been consolidated. As a result, there is not much more information that the Drexel trustees could obtain by deferring their decision for another year; and everyone understands that another year of uncertainty would be very difficult for MCPHU to endure. It was for that reason that the Drexel trustees authorized the Administration to enter into final negotiations with Tenet and to bring back to the trustees the terms for that relationship going forward. Either those terms will be acceptable, or they won't. 22. Is any contingency planning under way in case the Drexel trustees vote not to proceed with a merger? No. The Administration is devoting its full efforts to discussing issues with Tenet and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If the Administration can reach agreement with those two parties on their relationship with the University after the merger, and if that agreement is acceptable to the Drexel trustees, then there is every reason to believe that the merger would occur. If such an agreement cannot be reached, then merger will not occur, and at that point planning will begin for disengagement. 23. If the two universities merge, will children of MCPHU employees be able to attend Drexel at a discount? Yes -- they will be entitled to the same tuition remission as is provided to children of Drexel employees wishing to attend MCPHU (except that there will not be any discounts given for attending the School of Medicine). 24. When corporations merge, there are often significant staff layoffs. Is that going to happen if Drexel merges with MCPHU? When corporations merge, the acquirer has typically identified cost savings that it believes it can accomplish as a result of the merger; and the acquisition is intended to result in additional profits as a result of those savings. In our case, Drexel has already been managing MCPHU for three years, and MCPHU has already undergone substantial changes to reduce its costs. Because of that, the Drexel trustees are not anticipating that the merger will result in additional savings. For its part, the Administration is always looking to ensure "lean" budgets, and is constantly challenging its departments to cut costs. That will continue. The merger itself, though, is not expected to be the cause of any layoffs. 25. Will all employees have the same benefits? That is the goal, but as the Merger Transition Team has found, this is a very complicated question, since the two universities' benefit plans are currently so very different. It is likely that the two plans will become uniform over a period of years. For a discussion of the issues, see the minutes of the Team's meeting of January 10, 2002 {here}. 26. How long will MCPHU faculty have to wait before they are considered for tenure at Drexel? What will "tenure" mean for MCPHU faculty after the merger? The Merger Transition Team has discussed the many, complicated issues related to tenure at a number of their meetings, including January 3, January 17, and January 24. (Go to NEWS to read the minutes of those meetings.) They will be making recommendations to the President. Ultimately, these are issues that the Drexel trustees will have to decide. 27. Is the Merger Transition Team going to examine the merger of academic departments? The Team itself is not charged with responsibility for recommending how different academic units might best come together. It is the responsibility of each Dean and Director to be examining those issues, identifying synergies, and planning for the possibilities of a merged university. The Psychology Department, for example, has done a wonderful job and provides a good example of how faculty and departments can approach the potentials. (The MTT discussed the issues that Department faced at its meeting of January 24.) However, the MTT will be examining the academic issues relating to merger in the second phase of its work -- that is, between February 27 and July 1 -- if the Drexel trustees do vote for merger. 28. If the two universities merge, will they have to be reaccredited? The answer to that question really depends upon the accrediting agency. The universities have already been in communication with Middle States Association on this issue, and the MSA has given Drexel dates by which it needs to present additional information in order for re-accreditation to be granted by July 1, the date on which the merger would occur. 29. Is there any risk that the new university would not be accredited by MSA? The Administration believes that it is well positioned to satisfy all of the criteria for re-accreditation that have been established by Middle States. The MSA has published criteria that specify the information it requires whenever a university undergoes a "material change". (The merger would constitute a "material change" under the MSA guidelines.) Drexel is very aware of the MSA guidelines and of the information that the MSA requires; it is already in the process of preparing that information for MSA in anticipation of a favorable vote by the trustees; and it is confident that it will be able to satisfy all MSA requirements to ensure re-accreditation in advance of July 1. Indeed, the issue of the potential merger was discussed at length with MSA representatives when they visited Drexel this past fall, and the chair of the MSA visiting team indicated that they were impressed with Drexel's plans. 30. Have the Drexel Trustees voted? If so, was the vote close? Yes, the vote occurred on April 25th, and it was UNANIMOUS! 31. Why have some of the press reports said that Drexel was “taking control” of MCP Hahnemann and not “merging”? Since November 1998, Drexel has been managing MCP Hahnemann under an Operating Agreement. That Agreement gave Drexel the option to “take control” of MCP Hahnemann University, and that is technically what the Drexel Trustees voted to do. While everyone refers to it as a merger, that is not really what is going to happen, since two separate corporations will remain after July 1. In legal terms, the Philadelphia Health & Education Corporation ("PHEC"), which has been known as MCP Hahnemann University for the past three and one-half years, will become a not-for-profit subsidiary, or affiliate, of Drexel University. While it wasn’t really a merger, it is easiest to refer to it that way, and that is how we have been referring to it on this Webpage. 32. When is the merger actually going to take place? It will not be happening all at once: it is going to be a process. The date it all begins is July 1. On that date, Drexel becomes the legal “owner” of PHEC. After that date, things are going to start happening. 33. What will the name of the new University be? Drexel University. No, there will not be any “RIF” (reduction in force) as a result of the merger. Drexel has been managing MCPHU for the past three years, so virtually all personnel reductions have already been made. There may be some reassignments or changes in duties, though, as a result of changes in the administrative structure of the University after July 1. 35. What will happen to MCP Hahnemann University? The corporation (PHEC) will remain, but the MCPHU name will disappear forever. Everything will become part of Drexel University: the courses will be Drexel courses, the students will be Drexel students, and (once we obtain the various approvals from all of the accrediting agencies) the degrees and certificates will all be from Drexel. 36. What will happen to the MCP Hahnemann name? The Trustees of Drexel University will decide the name by which PHEC/the School of Medicine will be called after July 1. There have already been a number of focus groups held to help gather information about the preferences of alumni/AE, current students and interns, referring physicians, and faculty, and there is no one answer – there are strong views both ways. The “working name” is the Drexel University College of Medicine. A decision needs to be made before the end of June, though, so that the MCPHU name can be removed from the register of the Secretary of State and PHEC’s new name made a part of the official government record. 37. What will happen to the calendar? No changes are expected for the academic calendar. For employees, we will be unifying holidays and the policies relating to vacation, sick, personal time, and things like that. Stay tuned – we will post the new policies as soon as they are finalized. 38. What’s the plan for the three MCPHU schools? As of July 1, the School of Medicine will become the College of Medicine. It will remain with PHEC which, as a separate corporation, will have its own Board of Trustees, most of whom will be appointed by Drexel. The School of Public Health and the College of Nursing and Health Professions will move out of the PHEC corporation and become part of the Drexel corporation. All three schools will be identified as Drexel colleges/ schools in the course catalogues, academic organizational charts, materials sent to new students, etc. 39. When will MCPHU employees become employees of Drexel? Because of a variety of factors – like double taxation that would happen for FICA, visa issues for foreign employees, open enrollment periods for health benefit programs, etc. – employees of PHEC (all three schools) will remain employees of PHEC for the remainder of the calendar year. Then, on January 1, 2003, the employees in the School of Public Health (SPH) and in the College of Nursing and Health Professions (CHNP) will become employees of Drexel University. PHEC will remain the employer of employees in the College of Medicine. 40. What about the employees of the various administrative departments that support the three MCPHU schools, like Human Resources, Student Life, Enrollment Management, and the Library? We are still receiving advice on the proper way to place these employees within the Drexel-PHEC legal structure. We expect to have an answer to this question by the end of the month. 41. Will MCPHU faculty and students have to go to Drexel for services they now receive at MCPHU (e.g., registrar, bursar, personnel, financial aid and student services)? No. These administrative departments will continue to have offices at the different campuses as they do now. 42. Will students notice any change? Yes: the Drexel Dragon will be everywhere! But beyond that and new ID cards, all that students ought to notice is an expansion of the opportunities available to them. There will not be any change to the academic calendars in the next academic year. MCPHU students will be welcome at Drexel events and in Drexel student organizations, and vice versa. Student activity fees will stay pretty much as they are today. There will be more bus service between and among the different campuses, and more courses will be available through videoconferencing. We also expect that there will be one unifying student government organization. We are in the process of alerting all government programs that provide grants and loans to MCPHU students, and we do not expect there to be any problems with the change. 44. What will happen to the MCPHU faculty? From July 1 through December 31, all SPH and CNHP faculty will be given unpaid appointments to the faculty of Drexel University while they continue to hold paid appointments at PHEC; and they will be given full-time, paid appointments in the Drexel faculty effective January 1. The faculty in the College of Medicine will receive unpaid appointments to the faculty of Drexel University for academic year 2002-03 (July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003), while they continue to hold paid appointments at PHEC. 45. What about tenure for the MCPHU faculty? The vote to merge does not affect the tenure rights of any currently-tenured faculty. New tenure decisions affecting MCPHU faculty will be made in December. Tenure decisions relating to MCPHU faculty proposed for tenure at the School of Medicine are expected to be considered by the PHEC Board; and the Drexel Board is expected to consider tenure for SPH and CNHP faculty members (both currently tenured and those proposed for tenure). Between July 1 and the December PHEC Board meeting, the new PHEC Board is expected to consider a tenure policy for PHEC. The faculty will be involved in this process. 46. What will the tenure process be? All MCPHU faculty who have been recommended for tenure but whose nominations have not been considered by the PHEC Board before June 30, 2002, will be reviewed by the Provost. All MCPHU tenure-track faculty who have not yet gone through the tenure review process will have meetings with their Deans and the Provost over the summer to decide upon an appropriate tenure-review process for them. This will include when the “tenure clock” should start to run, and when the faculty member should be considered for tenure. At that time, they will also discuss whether the faculty member should be shifted to the new Clinical Educator track, which will not be a tenure-track appointment. 47. What is the Clinical Educator track? It is still in the investigation and discussion phase, but it is intended to be an alternative to the tenure track for those faculty who are principally clinicians or practitioners. It is anticipated that the Clinical Educator track will have the same levels of appointment that apply to tenure-track faculty – instructor, associate professor, assistant professor, and professor. It is also anticipated that the contracts given to these faculty will be for specific periods of time. This track is expected to be available in all colleges and schools of the University. 48. What is happening to employee benefits? Because no one’s employer is going to change until January 1, 2003, there will be no change in benefits until that date, with one key exception: as of July 1, 2002, PHEC will begin to increase its matching contribution for those employees who decide to put money into their retirement accounts. The new schedule is still being worked on, but should be announced by the end of the month; and information sessions will be scheduled. Health benefits will change a bit, though each program will stay mostly the same. A third plan will be started for all employees hired on and after January 1, 2003 – and this will be the plan into which both existing plans are phased over the next two years. Any current employee will be able to opt into this third plan. There will be materials and information sessions regarding the new health benefit plans during the enrollment periods in November. 49. In answer to an earlier question, you said that "the MCPHU name will disappear forever." Why? MCPHU is a "fictitious name" – a name a corporation takes that is used like a nickname, but not its "given name". MCPHU’s "given name" is the Philadelphia Health & Education Corporation" (PHEC). Beginning July 1, PHEC will no longer be a university, so it cannot legally use the MCPHU name. The MCPHU name will continue to exist as what PHEC was between November 1998 and June 30, 2002. 50. Have the Drexel Trustees made a decision about PHEC’s new name? Yes:
the Drexel Trustees have agreed that PHEC’s new name should be the
"Drexel University College of Medicine." Even so, the Administration
has designed, and the Trustees have approved, this description, which
will follow the new name: "In the tradition of the Women’s Medical
College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University." This line will
be used on letterhead for both the College of Medicine and the College
of Nursing and Health Professions. The letterhead will also recognize
our important affiliations with MCP University Hospital, Hahnemann University
Hospital, and St. Christopher’s University Hospital. 51. How will MCPHU Alumni/AE respond to the change? With enthusiasm, we hope! We know the "name issue" is important, for alumni/AE as well as students, faculty, and others. One prominent alumna who was not happy with the prospect of a new name for the Medical School, wrote this: "during my long drive home on Sunday, I did some serious (and clearer) thinking about the [issue and] I believe this is the optimal name for the school. It acknowledges the traditional aspects of the "founding schools". It does not use initials which has always been a bit un-revealing and is also not too long therefore less cumbersome…. I say, let's do it. We need to get with the business of supporting our school!" Another alum sent this e-mail: "While not solicited, I feel that I would like to state my opinion as to the "new" name. As an alumnus and faculty of many years, I believe unification across all areas is the most important thing to achieve. History, etc does not reside in words. Therefore I believe that for the present and future growth of the institutions, the name Drexel University College of Medicine is the most appropriate." We hope that all alumni/AE will come to view it this way! 52. The "College" of Medicine - - Why is the School becoming a College? At Drexel, the term "college" is used to describe a unit that has several programs and courses of study, while a "school" is more limited in what it offers. Calling it the "College of Medicine" will confirm its broad range of offerings. 53. After July 1, will Drexel own any of the MCPHU buildings? No. All of the MCPHU campus buildings are owned by Tenet, and that will not change. 54. Will Drexel start running any of the hospitals? No. The hospitals will continue to be owned and operated by Tenet. As part of the merger discussions, Drexel, PHEC and Tenet reached agreement on how that will work for the next twenty years. 55. Will any changes be made to the residency program? Nope. 56. Will there be any change to the academic calendar? No general changes. In almost all cases, classes being offered on the quarter system will continue to be offered on the quarter system; semester classes will continue be offered over semesters. Co-op will not be affected. 57. Will MCPHU employees get to take Christmas week off the way Drexel employees do? Trick question! Drexel employees have to work that week, the same as MCPHU employees do; so everyone will continue to have that same … opportunity! 58. What will happen to vacation accruals? Starting July 1, employees of Drexel and PHEC will be allowed to "carry over" up to one and one-half times the amount of vacation time they receive each year, up to a maximum of thirty days. This is a change for both universities. At MCPHU, the maximum number used to be 36 days, because they had up to 24 vacation days a year, so that is being reduced. If the extra 6 days are not used, they will be lost. At Drexel, the current maximum is only 20, so it is being increased to 30 on July 1 (the start of the new fiscal year). If a Drexel employee currently has more than 20 days in his or her "bank," they will be allowed to keep the extra, up to 30. All new HR policies will be posted on the web later this month, and HR will be scheduling information sessions on all campuses. All sick time will be carried over, up to the stated limit (120 days), which is not being changed. 60. Will MCPHU employees get the same number of holidays as Drexel employees? Not exactly – new holidays will not be declared for PHEC; rather, PHEC employees will receive three more "personal" days to make sure the total number of "personal + holiday" days are the same. We did not want to close the clinical practice groups for three additional days, because of patient needs. 61. When will we hear about the new retirement benefits for MCPHU employees? Soon. 62. Will retirement benefits for Drexel employees be affected? No. 63. Will there be any open forums to discuss the merger? Yes. We intend to have sessions where students, staff and faculty can ask questions, and are trying to determine the best dates/times/places etc. HR will also be hosting several information programs for employees and managers about the new policies and procedures; these will be scheduled toward the end of June. Student programs will be held in September. 64. Will undergrads at MCPHU be able to participate in Drexel undergraduate life? We are hoping that the undergraduate student governments, which are merging will take a lead role in providing answers to this question; but the two Deans of Student Life are already working together and planning get-togethers in September. There will be no extra fee for MCPHU students attending Drexel events or vice versa, and all undergrads will be able to use the DAC (the Daskalakis Athletic Center), including its state-of-the-art fitness center. Finally, there will be a shuttle that regularly serves the campuses, so that students can get back and forth; it will start in the fall. 65. Will there be any cutback in course offerings because of the merger? No. On the contrary, we expect that the synergies of linking high tech with health care, health care with business, public health with public policy, and so on will result in more courses, more programs and more opportunities for students to pursue the fields in which they are interested. 66. Are the rumors true that Drexel will be shifting to semesters next year? Nope. We said it before, we'll say it again: there will be no change to the quarter system for Drexel courses. 67. Will current MCPHU students be allowed to have the MCPHU name on their diplomas? We think so. Drexel will be the degree-granting institution, so Drexel's name must be on the diploma; but we are asking the Pennsylvania Departments of State and Education whether the MCPHU name can also be used. If it can, and if the Drexel Trustees concur, current students will be given the option of having the MCP Hahnemann name on their diplomas as well. 68. What about alumni/AE who want Drexel's name on their diplomas? Alumni/AE are already asking if they can exchange their diplomas for new ones with the Drexel name on it. The answer is, "Yes!" The opportunity will be announced in the fall. 69. Which employees are being moved to Drexel's payroll? Administrative employees and employees of the two academic units being transferred to Drexel will be put on the Drexel payroll as of January 1, 2003. Employees of the College of Medicine are going to remain PHEC employees. 70. What health benefit plan will the transferred employees be in -- PHEC's or Drexel's? Neither. Employees who transfer to Drexel, and those hired by either Drexel or PHEC beginning January 1, 2003 will be enrolled in a new "third plan." 71. What kind of coverage will this new "third plan" offer? How much will it cost? We are currently in the process of discussing and designing these plans with the insurance companies. Costing, as well as details of the plans, will not be available until sometime in the fall, when we have completed the marketing process. It is the University's intention to provide subsidies for both single employees and those who have families. The more expensive plans (like Personal Choice) will have higher co-pays. During Open Enrollment, all employees will have an opportunity to learn more about all the plans and to make plan elections. 72. Will the discounts for using Tenet hospitals continue? Yes! We will encourage all PHEC and Drexel employees to use our University doctors. 73. Will MCPHU employees lose their seniority when they become Drexel employees? No. MCPHU employees transferred to Drexel will retain their original date of hire for vacation accrual, sick time accrual, tuition remission, and severance benefits -- and that includes your years with Allegheny, if you have been here that long. 74. When will PHEC employees find out about the new retirement plan? Very soon! President Papadakis is sending a memo to all PHEC employees this week or next announcing the changes being made by PHEC to its retirement plan. The first phase of a three-phase equalization effort will go into effect on July 1. The new terms will apply to CHNP and SPH employees, too, through December. 75. How long will the work week be? Starting September 21, 2002 the work week will be 40 hours long, for employees of both PHEC and Drexel. 76. Are there any changes being made that affect part-time employees? Yes. Starting January 1, 2003 employees at both PHEC and Drexel will be considered for health benefits if they work 20 hours per week or more. Part-time employees will be able to purchase the same health benefits as full-time employees but will be required to make a larger contribution toward the total cost. Part-time employees will not be eligible for University paid life insurance, short - and long-term disability coverage, or tuition remission. 77. Will there be "tuition remission" after July 1? Who will get it? Yes.
After July 1, all full-time employees (of either the University or PHEC),
their spouses and children certain discounts will be entitled to tuition
remission for credit courses, under the same policy. That policy is not
yet final, but here is where it is headed. 78. What about Tenet employees? Tenet employees currently enjoy some tuition discount. Although nothing has yet been decided, we expect those same discounts to continue after July 1. 79. Update: Logo to be changed, thanks to a reader! Dr.
Robert De Silverio, a Clinical Professor in the Department of 80. How will we refer to the different campuses? “Home”?
No. Actually, we expect they will be called Drexel 81. Update: New Shuttle Service to Start July 1 Shuttle
service between the University City Main Campus and 82. Are we doing anything special to celebrate the merger? Yes!
We are planning events and activities for the fall, once we 83. After the merger, will MCPHU doctors be involved in health services at Drexel? Oh
yes! This is one of the obvious benefits of the merger. On 84. What is the history of MCP and Hahnemann? Hahnemann
University was founded in 1848 as the Homeopathic 85. Will there be new stationery and business cards for MCPHU employees? Of
course. Orders are being accepted now. As new stationery is 86. How will the merger impact the use of the libraries? All
students and faculty will have access to all libraries — both 87. Will financial aid be affected? We
are doing everything we can to make sure that the changes 88. Will MCPHU students and employees be getting new ID cards? Yes.
New cards with the Drexel logo and new names will start to 89. What about visas for foreign students and employees? We
are consulting with immigration attorneys, the INS and the 90. Will
the YMCAs at Center City and Queen Lane still be open to Yes,
we have renewed our contracts with the YMCAs, and those 91. Will the merger affect the timing of merit raises fo MCPHU employees? Yes:
Merit raises for employees of both PHEC and Drexel, faculty 92. Will everyone have to work 8-to-5 starting September 21? As
reported earlier, there will be a uniform 40-hour work-week 93. Update: Tenet employees and tuition remission Since
the date of our last newsletter, we have confirmed that 94. What will this merger mean for me as a student? The answers to this question will come with time, but we can think of three things right away. First, the value of your degree will increase since our newly merged University will join the 51 private universities classified by the Carnegie Foundation as Doctoral/Research Universities-Extensive, where our peers are Carnegie-Mellon, MIT, Caltech, and the University of Pennsylvania. Second, we expect there will be more courses, programs, and opportunities for students to pursue in their field of interest because of the obvious synergies linking high tech with health care, health care with business, public health with public policy and so on. And third, with our alumni/ae locate all across the country and around the globe, there will be more opportunities for co-op experiences, for employment, and for networking. 95. I am
currently taking classes at Drexel and plan to transfer my credits to
MCP Hahnemann for the Humanities and Sciences Program. I was told that
my 3-credit courses at Drexel will be only worth 2 credits This is exactly the type of new opportunity that now exists as a result of the merger: programs offered at MCPHU are now available to Drexel students, and vice versa. The difference between quarters (at Drexel) and semesters (at MCPHU) will cause a re-calculation of credits. Since Drexel works on a quarter credit system, and MCP Hahnemann works on semesters, you would have to multiply your number of Drexel (quarter) credits by .75 to get the total of semester credits. Therefore, a 3-credit quarter class is equal to 2.25 semester credits. To find out exactly how many of your credits will transfer, please contact the program advisor. 96. Will
the fulltime undergraduate and graduate students of the College of Nursing
and Health Professions and School of Public Health be able to As of July 1, all students are Drexel students, and all courses will be Drexel courses. There will not be any “additional cost” for CNHP students to take classes in Arts & Sciences just because they were once “Drexel” courses, or for Engineering students to take classes in Public Health just because they were once “MCPHU” courses. Because of technological difficulties, the databases will not be able to merged right away, and this will make for a few speedbumps as we transition; but your academic advisor will be able to help smooth the way. 97. Update: The NEW Drexel University Shuttle The new Dragon Route began service yesterday, July 1st. The schedule is posted at http://www.drexel.edu/facilities. The shuttle will run 5:45 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., and will make stops at Nesbitt (33rd and Market) and Bellet (15th and Race), where there will be an easy interchange with the Tenet shuttle to the Henry Avenue MCP and Queen Lane Medical campuses. Copies of the schedule are being posted and distributed at the University City Main and Center City Hahnemann campuses. 98. Is there
any place that students thinking about coming here can get Yes! There are a couple of places applicants can go. On the Drexel side, they can visit http://www.drexel.edu/ecm/merger.html , and there is also a link from the Health Sciences side to http://www.drexel.edu/hs. Soon there will be links from the Drexel Table of Contents “Health Sciences” section, on the “Drexel Index” page, and on the “General Information for Health Sciences Students” page. 99. I am in the United States on a visa. Do these changes affect my visa? Yes,
but thanks to the assistance and support we have received from the
Immigration and Naturalization Service and from the Department of
State, things are under control. All international students, scholars,
and
employees whom we know to have visas are being sent a letter from the
University’s General Counsel, advising them of the changes and confirming
that all appropriate agencies have been notified. If you do not receive
this letter in the near future, you should contact PHEC’s Director
of Important Note: Some students/scholars/employees may have an old, old name on their visas – one student reports that his, issued in 1966, is in the name of “Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University.” If your visa has a name older than MCPHU on it, you should contact Ms.Williams so that a more specific letter of explanation can be written for you. But as long as you have been maintaining status and has a valid I-20 with a current travel signature from Ms.Williams, you shouldn't have any problems re-entering the country if you leave. 100. Update: The New 40-hour/Week Requirement We have received lots of comments, questions and suggestions (not all of them printable) as a result of the briefings that HR has done about the 40-hour work-week requirement that is going into effect on September 21. As a result of this feedback, the University is going to explore the suggestions that have been made about how to make the requirement more manageable and flexible for a workforce with diverse demands on their non-employment hours. HR expects to be able to develop some guidance for office managers over the summer, and we will keep you advised. The bottom line, though, is that to make this new university as good as it can be, it has to have the full commitment of everyone, all at the same level. If the university does well, we will do well; and this first year is especially important for it to do well! (PS: You can stop sending us e-mails now ...) 101. Where will my academic records be kept after the merger? The same places they are now! All academic records are maintained by the Registrar. For medical students, the records will continued to be kept at the Queen Lane Medical Campus; for CNHP and SPH students, they will be kept at the Center City Hahnemann Campus; and for everyone else, at the University City Main Campus. They are kept there for two years, and then the physical files are sent off into the mountains for safekeeping. The Registrar will have access to electronic records all the time. 102. Will everyone have access to all electronic databases at all MCPHU and Drexel libraries? Everyone will have access to most, but probably not all, of the libraries’ many databases. The goal is to provide universal access to all databases. Even so, we have to look at the cost, too. For databases that are of interest to a very small number of people, the license fees we would have to pay to give access to everyone might not be worth it. In those cases, we will offer the databases to specific user groups. The process of reviewing the licenses is going forward now. 103. Update: Use of Drexel facilities We have now confirmed that the DAC (Daskalakis Athletic Center) will be available to all MCPHU grad students and medical students without additional charge, just as it is for all MCPHU undergraduates. This policy will apply during the 2002-03 academic year, and will be evaluated once we get a better sense of actual use. Remember, the YMCAs at Queen Lane and Center City will continue to be available for students at those campuses. 104. Will MCPHU offices be open or classes held on Columbus Day and President’s Day? Yes. These are holidays at Drexel; they are not holidays at MCPHU. As of July 1, they remain holidays at Drexel and not holidays at MCPHU, so MCPHU offices will be open. MCPHU employees will be getting two new personal days, so they might be able to use those days on those holidays, but whether they can do so will be up to the supervisor of each office, since each office must remain open with at least a skeleton staff. As for students, classes and clinical days have already been scheduled for those two dates, so they will not be holidays this coming year; but the academic schedule will be adjusted next year (2003-04) so that classes and clinical assignments for students will not be held on those holidays. 105. What about Valentine’s Day? Forgeddaboudit. All offices will be open. 106. Will tuition change for MCPHU programs, since Drexel's tuition is higher? No, we don’t anticipate changing tuition rates for current students from what has been published in the comptroller’s tuition and fee rates schedule for academic year 2002-2003. For the past several years, Drexel tuition for continuing students has increased between 3.5 and 4.5 percent annually and we anticipate the same level of increase in future years. 107. When will MCPHU employees be able to participate in the pre-tax transportation benefit available to Drexel employees? These benefits will be available to all MCPHU employees starting January 1, 2003, when the benefit plans change. The Drexel Dragon is now flying in Center City!!! You can see it atop the Bellet Building (15th and Race) from City Hall, from the Expressway, and, we hope, from Temple! The flag raising ceremony also made the local news at 6:00 pm last night! 109. I work at MCPHU, now Drexel University College of Medicine (DUCOM). Tell me again how the new vacation policy is going to work? As
of July 1, employees can only carry over 1 and 1/2 times their 110. Correction: Benefits for part-time employees to change January 1 In
an earlier newsletter, an answer we gave suggested that 111. Can Drexel student IDs be used at the Hahnemann cafeteria? No
one needs an ID to get into the Hahnemann Hospital cafeteria, 112. Is the new shuttle between University City and Center City available for staff as well as students? Yes: just show your ID to get on the bus, Gus. 113. Will the TIAA/CREF matching for Drexel employees be affected by the merger, and if so, how? No, the Drexel retirement benefit is not being changed at all. 114. Will DUCOM faculty have access to the Drexel Faculty Club? How about the exercise facilities? At Drexel, any employee (not just faculty) may purchase memberships in both the Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) and the Drexel University Club (it’s not even called the “Faculty” Club!). All MCPHU/DUCOM employees can now do the same. The DAC price is $50/year. Any employee can eat at the University Club, but it is cheaper per meal for members. For information, you can visit the Dragon Card Office in the Creese Student Union Complex or call 215-895-6095. 115. What exactly is the pre-tax transportation benefit that will be available to DUCOM employees on January 1st? The Qualified Pre-Tax Transportation Expense Plan provides an opportunity for full-time employees to pay for mass transit and/or qualified parking on a PRE-TAX basis (exempt from Federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes). This account must be used for “work-related” transit and parking expenses. Details will be provided by HR as the date gets closer. 116. Will the Drexel bookstore produce some clothes/hats that have the dragon and say Drexel University College of Medicine? Yes!
Look for the new products this fall! They should be available Questions?
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